Inside door lock

ABSTRACT

An auxiliary lock for locking a door securely against a door jamb having a lock blade with a lug struck out near its outer end for engagement with the jamb, and a plurality of serrated teeth along one edge of the blade which are engaged by complementary teeth carried by a pivoted ratchet pawl mounted on a body member which is slideably mounted on the blade. The body member has an integral shoulder which engages the inside of the door, and also a rearwardly extending pivoted lever which when depressed disengages the ratchet pawl from the teeth to permit removal of the body member.

United States Patent [72] inventors Edward J. Leier;

Jack Edgar, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 211 App]. No. 807,484

[22] Filed Mar. 17, 1969 [45] Patented Feb. 16, 1971 [73] Assignee PeterJ. Verbeke and John G. Abbott Saskatchewan, Canada [54] INSIDE DOOR LOCKPrimary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant Examiner-Edward J.McCarthy Attorney- Rogers, Bereskin and Parr ABSTRACT: An auxiliary lockfor locking a door securely against a door jamb having a lock blade witha lug struck out near its outer end for engagement with the jamb, and aplurality of serrated teeth along one edge of the blade which areengaged by complementary teeth carried by a pivoted ratchet pawl mountedon a body member which is slideably mounted on the blade. The bodymember has an integral shoulder which engages the inside of the door,and also a rearwardly extending pivoted lever which when depresseddisengages the ratchetpawl from the teeth to permit removal of the bodymember.

PATENIEU FEB 1 6 19m INVENTOR. EDWARD J. LEIER JACK EDGAR INSIDE DOORLOCK.

This invention relates geherally to locking mechanisms and in particularto an inside lock for lockinga door against a door jamb.

I A door can be locked from the inside using a chain, bolt or the likewhich is intended to be operated only from the inside of the door. Thesedevices must be attached to the door or the door jamb by screws or thelike and are'intended tobe permanently attached. The device of thepresent invention is adapted to hold a door securely closed withoutbeing permanently attached to the door or the door jamb.

A preferred embodiment of the 'device comprises a lock blade having alug near its outer end for engaging with the outside surface of a doorjamb, and having a row of ratchet teeth along one edge. A body member isslideably mounted'on the blade and includes a ratchet pawl for engagingthe ratchet teeth of the blade to positively locate the body member onthe blade. A rearwardly extending lever is pivotally attached to thebody member for disengaging the ratchet pawlfrom the ratchet teeth tofacilitate removalof the body membeifiand a shoulder is formedintegrally on the body member to engage the inside surface of a door.When the device is in place, the lug on the blade bears against theoutside surface of the door jamb, and-the shoulder on the body member isheld tightly 1 against the blade by engagement between the ratchet pawland the ratchet teeth of the blade, so that the door is effectivelyprevented from being opened from the outside. To disengage the device,the lever of the body member is depressed, thereby permitting the bodymember to be disconnected from the blade to permit the door to beopened.

In the drawings which illustrates 'apreferred embodiment of theinvention:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, partly broken away, of an inside door lockaccording to the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view of part of the inside door lock in position on adoor. 8

Referring to FIG. 1, an inside door lock is generally indicated by thenumeral 10-and consists of an elongated lock blade 12 having a set ofratchet teeth 14 along an upper edge 16. A body member 18 is slideablyengaged on the lock blade '12 and includes a spring-loaded ratchet pawl20 for engaging the ratchet teeth 14. The body member 18 also includes arearwardly extending pivotally attached handle 22 which is operativelyconnected to the spring-loaded ratchet pawl 20 for disengaging theratchet pawl 20 from the teeth 14.

The lock blade 12 is constructed witha lug 24 pushed out adjacent aleading or outer end 26. The blade ratchet teeth 14- are formed part wayalong the blade upper edge 16 to coact with teeth in the ratchet pawl20, as will be described below. Also formed in the lock blade 12 are anaperture 29 which'is utilized to hang the lock when it is not in use,and a bottleopening means 27 both of which are provided for convenienceonly.

The body member 18 is formed from a single piece of material folded intoa U-shape and having a first side 40 and a second side 42 with a pair ofstrap portions 43 and 45 linking the sides 40 and 42 to form theU-shape. The body member 18 is mounted slideably on the blade 12, asillustrated, with the straps 43 and 45 resting against the lower edge 36of the blade 12. The body member 18 includes a shoulder 44 formedintegrally with the body member second side 42and is bent to extend atright angles to the body member 18in a direction opposite to that of thelug 24. A shoulder bumper 46 of rubber or other suitable resilientmaterial covers the shoulder 44 to prevent damage to the door when thelock is in use and to help in adjusting the lock as described below. Thebody member 18 is preferably formed with the strap 45-extendingrearwardly past the rearward vertical limit of the body member sides 40and 42 and substantially below the handle 22 so that a user can placehis thumb on the handle 22 and his finger under the strap 45 whenoperating the lock.

The ratchet pawl 20 is pivoted at 48 between the body member sides 40and 42 and is formed with teeth 50 spaced rearwardly of the pivot 48.The pawl teeth 50 are engaged with the ratchet teeth 14 on the blade 12.Above the blade ratchet teeth 50, and rearwardly of. the pawl pivot 48.a U- shaped spring 52 is seated in a ratchet pawl curved portion 54. Thespring 52 is anchored at a pin 56 which extends between the body membersides 40 and 42 and is tensioned such that it provides a downward forceon theratchet pawl 20 at all times. As will beseen from the drawing,-the blade ratchet teeth 14 are formed with vertical forward faces andsloping rearward faces. The pawl teeth 50 are formed with acomplementary shape to. that of the blade teeth 14 thus allowing thebody member 18 to be pushed forwardly while the ratchet pawl 20 jumpsform tooth to tooth on the blade 16 but preventing the bodymember 18from moving rearwardly (unless the handle 22 is depressed). A rearwardforce applied to the body member 18 would turn the ratchet pawl 20 aboutthe pivot 48 and force the pawl teeth 50 into more solid engagement withthe blade teeth 14. V

The handle 22 is connected piv'otally between the body sides 40.and 42at 56 with a first handle portion 58 extending rearwardly from thepivot'56f' and asecond handle portion 60 extending forwardly of thehandle-pivot 56'. The second handle portion 60 includes a forwardlyextending projection 62 which extends into a ratchet pawl recess 64. Thehandle 22 has a forward edge 65 which engages. with a rearwardly facingratchet pawl-edge 67 when the blade 12 is removed, thereby preventingthe spring 52 from pushing the ratchet pawl 20 out of engagement withthe handle 22. The first handle portion 58 is'covered near itsrearwardly projecting end with a sleeve 66 of rubber, plastic or thelike.

The handle 22- may be retained in-its locked position as shown in FIG. 1by. a key 68 which can be inserted through aligned apertures 70 in thesides 40 and 42 and in the handle 22. The key 68 locks handle 22 tothebody member sides 40 and42 and prevents an intruder from sliding atool between the door jamb and the door to lift the handle 22.

Downward pressure against the handle 22 will rotate the handle 22 aboutits. pivot 56'. The projection 62 engaged in the recess 64 willsimultaneously lift the ratchet pawl 20 to disengage the pawl teeth 50from the blade teeth 14, thereby allowing the body member 18 to be movedrearwardly along the blade 12 as desired. The pawl teeth 50 will remaindisengaged from the blade teeth 14 as long as pressure is applied on thehandle 22. However, when pressure on the handle 22 is released, thespring 52 will force the ratchet pawl 20 toward the blade 12 and intothe locked position shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 illustrates the device 10 in use in locking a door 72 with a doorjamb 74.-The blade lug 24 is located on the outside face of the doorjamb 74 and the body member shoulder 44 is located on the inside face ofthe door 72. The blade 12 ex tends between the door jamb 74 and the door72. If a wouldbe intruder attempts to open the door 72 about its hinge76, he

will be unable to do'so since the body member 18 is locked inplace byengagementbetween the lug 24 and the jamb 74, and the shoulder 44 andthe door 72. Should the intruder then attempt to move the handle 22 todisengage the ratchet pawl 20 he will be unable to do so because of thekey 68 which locks the handle 22 in place. When the user wishesto removethe device, he removes the key 68, depresses the handle 22 to releasethe ratchet pawl 20, and slides the body member 18 backwards off theblade 12. He then opens the door 72 and recovers the blade 12.

The area of the blade 12 including the blade leading end 26 and the lug24 is preferably tempered to improve the strength of the blade 12 inthat area. This will-help to reduce the risk that an'intruder may breakor bend the lug 24. It is important that the device should be tight onthe door 72 to make it difficult for an intruder to place an implementsuch as a crow bar under the lug 24 to break it. For this reason theteeth 14 on the blade 12 should have as small a pitch as practicablesuch as IO teeth to the inch. The bumper 46 helps to ensure that a usercan apply the device to a door tightly since the bumper is resilient andwill accept a limited compression while the ratchet pawl 20 is engagedin the blade ratchet teeth 14.

One of the features of the lock is that the handle 22 is located in aconvenient position relative to the body member 18 and it does notinterfere with the door 72 when in use. The force required at the handleto unlock the lock is small although a large force would be required toforce the body member 18 rearwardly of the blade 12.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for locking a door against a door jamb and comprising:

a. an elongated longitudinal blade having a lug projecting laterallytherefrom adjacent a forward end of said blade, said blade having a rowof ratchet teeth along at least part of a first longitudinal edge, eachof said ratchet teeth having a forward face lying in a transverse planewhich is generally at right angles to said first longitudinal edge;

b. a body member adapted to slideably receive said blade, said bodymember having a shoulder projecting laterally therefrom adjacent aforward end of said body member, said lug and said shoulder extending atsubstantially right angles and in opposite directions so that when saidbody member is connected to said blade and the locking apparatus is inplace, the lug bears against the jamb and the shoulder bears against thedoor to hold the door closed;

c. a ratchet pawl having a plurality of teeth adjacent a rear end ofsaid pawl for engaging the said ratchet teeth, said spring meansattached to the" body member and adapted to bias said ratchet pawl formaintaining said ratchet pawl teeth in engagement with said ratchetteeth; and

. a handle pivotally attached to said body member and extendingrearwardly from said body member, said handle being pivotally attachedto the body member rearwardly of the ratchet pawl and comprising; afront end; a projection extending forwardly from the front end of thehandle and engaged in the ratchet pawl recess; and a rear end portion,whereby upon moving the rear end portion of said handle towards saidblade, said projection and said rear end of the pawl move away from theblade to move the ratchet pawl out of engagement with the ratchet teethon said blade to permit the body member to be moved rearwardly on theblade.

1. Apparatus for locking a door against a door jamb and comprising: a.an elongated longitudinal blade having a lug projecting laterallytherefrom adjacent a forward end of said blade, said blade having a rowof ratchet teeth along at least part of a first longitudinal edge, eachof said ratchet teeth having a forward face lying in a transverse planewhich is generally at right angles to said first longitudinal edge; b. abody member adapted to slideably receive said blade, said body memberhaving a shoulder projecting laterally therefrom adjacent a forward endof said body member, said lug and said shoulder extending atsubstantially right angles and in opposite directions so that when saidbody member is connected to said blade and the locking apparatus is inplace, the lug bears against the jamb and the shoulder bears against thedoor to hold the door closed; c. a ratchet pawl having a plurality ofteeth adjacent a rear end of said pawl for engaging the said ratchetteeth, said pawl being pivotally connected to said body member adjacentsaid body member forward end and said pawl extending rearwardly fromsaid pivotal connection to said pawl rear end such that a rearward forceon the shoulder tends to rotate the ratchet pawl into tighter engagementwith the ratchet teeth on the blade, and a forward force moves the pawlteeth over the ratchet teeth to position the blade against the door; d.spring means attached to the body member and adapted to bias saidratchet pawl for maintaining said ratchet pawl teeth in engagement withsaid ratchet teeth; and e. a handle pivotally attached to said bodymember and extending rearwardly from said body member, said handle beingpivotally attached to the body member rearwardly of the ratchet pawl andcomprising; a front end; a projection extending forwardly from the frontend of the handle and engaged in the ratchet pawl recess; and a rear endportion, whereby upon moving the rear end portion of said handle towardssaid blade, said projection and said rear end of the pawl move away fromthe blade to move the ratchet pawl out of engagement with the ratchetteeth on said blade to permit the body member to be moved rearwardly onthe blade.